AWSP vs. AWIS

Following the announcement of the Alexa Web Search Platform last week Alexa received a mountain of applications to join the beta program. We are excited to see that the developer community is as optimistic about the possibilities as we are. As one enthusiastic writer put it, Alexa intends to tap the independent innovative talents from the entire connected planet. As much as I love that comment, I would say it a little differently. Alexa is not tapping the innovative talents from the entire connected planet -- we are enabling them. We are saying to all the latent search engine talent in the World, sidelined by the insurmountable cost of technology infrastructure, that you are in the game. The playing field has expanded to include you. Now go play.

Buried in the applications there were a number of people who were unclear about the differences between the Alexa Web Search Platform and the Alexa Web Information Service. For example, a number of applications simply stated that they wanted to get access to traffic data, or that they wanted to replace their existing search with Alexa's, both of which are available in AWIS, not AWSP.

So I thought it would be useful to give an overview of the two services and how they differ.

Alexa Web Search Platform - provides access to the raw documents and metadata from Alexa's multiple 100 terabyte crawls. It is based on the Define, Process, Publish concept. First, you define a set of documents you would like to process. This is done using an advanced query building interface. Then you process those documents. You have access to a compute cluster and you can upload a C program that you write which will process all the documents you defined in the first step. Your output will be stored on a massive storage cluster. Then you publish your output by integrating it into a new search index accessible via Amazon Web Services, or simply download it in bulk.

Alexa Web Information Service - provides access to Alexa derived meta data about the Web. These include a customizable Web search feature (search by category, language, filter for adult content, and much more) an URL information feed (traffic details, related links and more) and much much more. Wondering what you can do with this kind of data? Look at Alexa.com, or do a Web search on icerocket.com, or buy advertising on adbrite.com, or install the searchstatus Firefox toolbar. These sites and services all use AWIS to show information about Web sites.

In short, the AWSP is the raw data for programmers and data miners. If you have ever entertained the idea of building a search engine from scratch and have the programming skills to make it happen, but simply lack the resources, the AWSP is for you.

AWIS, on the other hand, is the processed data. The work has already been done for you. All you need to do is sign up and incorporate it into your own site or service.

Alexa Web Search Platform - Alexa Web Information Service